Beethoven (The) Complete String Quartets
Stage fright? The Prazák keep pulling back from their soul-searching
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Ludwig van Beethoven
Genre:
Chamber
Label: Praga
Magazine Review Date: 3/2006
Media Format: Super Audio CD
Media Runtime: 512
Mastering:
Stereo
DDD
Catalogue Number: DSD350013
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
String Quartet No. 1 |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Prazák Qt |
String Quartet No. 2 |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Prazák Qt |
String Quartet No. 3 |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Prazák Qt |
String Quartet No. 4 |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Prazák Qt |
String Quartet No. 5 |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Prazák Qt |
String Quartet No. 6 |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Prazák Qt |
String Quartet No. 7, 'Rasumovsky' |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Prazák Qt |
String Quartet No. 8, 'Rasumovsky' |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Prazák Qt |
String Quartet No. 9, 'Rasumovsky' |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Prazák Qt |
String Quartet No. 10, 'Harp' |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Prazák Qt |
String Quartet No. 11, 'Serioso' |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Prazák Qt |
String Quartet No. 12 |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Prazák Qt |
String Quartet No. 13 |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Prazák Qt |
String Quartet No. 14 |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Prazák Qt |
String Quartet No. 15 |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Prazák Qt |
String Quartet No. 16 |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Prazák Qt |
Author: Nalen Anthoni
Schubert wanted to hear the Op 131 quartet and his wish was granted five days before he died. Wagner believed it to be Beethoven’s finest work; Beethoven himself thought it was his finest quartet and, in an unprecedented move, began it with a fugue. The Prazák Quartet seems a little daunted by what’s required of them here. But from the second of this seven-movement non-stop marathon, these artists get closer to the music, cohesively so in the ‘hymning’ sixth variation of the slow movement.
The corresponding movement of Op 127 in E flat, its companion piece on disc, is finer. This, too, is a set of variations, and a high degree of profundity is presaged as first violinist Václav Remes luminously plays the melody on which it is based. He is an excellent leader, guiding but never dominating. Ensemble is integrated with a keen ear for Beethoven’s varied texturing, yet the strands are distinct. Technically this is pretty hot stuff but it is married to an artistic purpose; and the performance of this whole work can stand as an example of the group’s re-creative ability at its most comprehensive.
It isn’t always so: reserve intrudes when least expected. As with the fugue in Op 131, so it is with the slow movements of Op 59 No 1 in F and No 2 in E minor marked Adagio molto e mesto and Molto adagio respectively. Moreover, Beethoven adds to the sketches of No 1 the words ‘A willow or acacia over my brother’s grave’ (thought to be a reference to a sibling who had died a few days after the composer’s birth), and directs that No 2 ‘be played with much feeling’. In neither case are the Prazáks emotionally all-encompassing, as if such specific instructions had imposed constraints upon them.
It is curious, considering how involved they are in the sombre Op 18 No 4 and, at another remove, the Cavatina of Op 130. Many ensembles, from the Busch Quartet to the Takács, are daringly slow, pushing timeless poignancy to the limits. The Prazáks opt for a more flowing Adagio molto espressivo which at first may seem a touch bland; but repeated listening reveals an individual discernment, the palpitating six bars in the middle labelled Beklemmt (‘oppressed’) suitably ruffled. Objective this is not; and even less so is the ‘Song of Thanksgiving’ of Op 132 in A minor, ethereally inward from the subtly nuanced and articulated opening chorale onwards.
The Prazáks’ sound is spare and sinewy. Their expressive compass is not dependent on tonal allure (which would probably get a nod of approval from Beethoven), least of all in the Grosse Fuge, Op 133, a performance of tightly drawn skeins and unequivocally spiky intensity that commands total listener-immersion. Soul-searching? Certainly – but soul-bruising too.
The corresponding movement of Op 127 in E flat, its companion piece on disc, is finer. This, too, is a set of variations, and a high degree of profundity is presaged as first violinist Václav Remes luminously plays the melody on which it is based. He is an excellent leader, guiding but never dominating. Ensemble is integrated with a keen ear for Beethoven’s varied texturing, yet the strands are distinct. Technically this is pretty hot stuff but it is married to an artistic purpose; and the performance of this whole work can stand as an example of the group’s re-creative ability at its most comprehensive.
It isn’t always so: reserve intrudes when least expected. As with the fugue in Op 131, so it is with the slow movements of Op 59 No 1 in F and No 2 in E minor marked Adagio molto e mesto and Molto adagio respectively. Moreover, Beethoven adds to the sketches of No 1 the words ‘A willow or acacia over my brother’s grave’ (thought to be a reference to a sibling who had died a few days after the composer’s birth), and directs that No 2 ‘be played with much feeling’. In neither case are the Prazáks emotionally all-encompassing, as if such specific instructions had imposed constraints upon them.
It is curious, considering how involved they are in the sombre Op 18 No 4 and, at another remove, the Cavatina of Op 130. Many ensembles, from the Busch Quartet to the Takács, are daringly slow, pushing timeless poignancy to the limits. The Prazáks opt for a more flowing Adagio molto espressivo which at first may seem a touch bland; but repeated listening reveals an individual discernment, the palpitating six bars in the middle labelled Beklemmt (‘oppressed’) suitably ruffled. Objective this is not; and even less so is the ‘Song of Thanksgiving’ of Op 132 in A minor, ethereally inward from the subtly nuanced and articulated opening chorale onwards.
The Prazáks’ sound is spare and sinewy. Their expressive compass is not dependent on tonal allure (which would probably get a nod of approval from Beethoven), least of all in the Grosse Fuge, Op 133, a performance of tightly drawn skeins and unequivocally spiky intensity that commands total listener-immersion. Soul-searching? Certainly – but soul-bruising too.
Explore the world’s largest classical music catalogue on Apple Music Classical.
Included with an Apple Music subscription. Download now.
Gramophone Digital Club
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Events & Offers
From £9.20 / month
SubscribeGramophone Club
- Print Edition
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Events & Offers
From £11.45 / month
Subscribe
If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.